


Together, Together

by ConfessionForAnotherTime



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Backstory, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Self Confidence Issues, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2015-10-25
Packaged: 2018-04-28 01:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5073373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessionForAnotherTime/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ren takes a moment to reassure Nora right before their first match at the Vytal tournament after lunch with their team and Team RWBY.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together, Together

The pressure was starting to mount. The more Nora thought about it, the more she held it in. She didn’t want to appear weak in front of everyone. She didn’t need everyone’s pity. She knew that Ren would be with her through thick and thin, but everyone else? They had been together for a few months. Just this semester. That was nothing like the lifetime that she had known Ren. She knew he would be there for her. Pyrrha? She was starting to trust her more, in her own way. Jaune was too easy not to trust.

Ren kept his proximity to Nora the longer they sat there over the course of lunch. She wouldn’t say it, but she was worried and it would take the two of them being alone before it would come out. It would take him drawing it out of her to be able to know just how deep the fear went, like he would when they were alone together at night. Much like him, Nora didn’t open up quickly. It took her time to voice any kind of problem. It wasn’t far off with how much it took him to talk to people even in a casual setting.

Nora spilled more and more of her fears as soon as they finished their food, even touching on there being nowhere for them to go if something happened in the course of the fight. _Ren and I have no parents. We have no home left to go to._ The words hung in the air and everyone either ignored it or didn’t hear in the first place, leaving the pair to sort through their issue. The announcement called for the two of them to continue to the arena and Nora lagged behind, still full from her food but also weighed down by the reality of their situation. What if they lost? She couldn’t bear the thought of being cast out like that after the attack. No. Don’t think of that right now.

 _We just have each other. We are going to Beacon together. Well, not together-together, but we went as a pair. We’ve been through a lot even in our short time together at the school and so much is riding on how this turns out. So much is at stake. Like I was just babbling in front of everyone about how much we would be ostracized if we don’t win this fight because everyone will laugh at us and I don’t think that I could take that kind of… Ren?_ Nora looked down, two of his fingers touching hers after they had gotten up from the ramen shack with the rest of the group. Pyrrha had already pulled ahead, leaving the RWBY crew and Jaune trailed behind them. Yet, Ren…

“I know you’re worried.” Nora closed her eyes at his words. “But we’re going to do fine. Team BRNZ isn’t anything to worry about. Between all of us, we’re going to take them down. And you know what, if we don’t, I’m not going to think less of us, or of you, for it because we tried our hardest.” Nora’s steps slowed as Jaune pulled ahead, chatting with Pyrrha about strategy for the fight.

“I know that deep down, but I’m still worried,” Nora continued, not waiting for Ren to respond. “I’m worried that we’ll have to go back home, to a place that doesn’t really exist because we weren’t able to keep it together. I’m afraid that the professors are going to look down on us because we weren’t able to advance to the next round like Team RWBY or any of the other Beacon teams. I just want to do something that mom would be proud of, ya know?” Nora’s shoulders fell, releasing his fingers that had wrapped tighter around hers the longer she had talked. “I just want to put on a performance that your mother would be proud of. My dad too, but we won’t see it. It’s just been us for years and I don’t know what we’ll do if we have to leave here with our tails between our legs. Well not literally but you know what I mean---” Nora stopped midsentence, Ren’s fingers on her lips silencing her.   
“You’re psyching yourself out.” Ren pulled her into a hug. “I know you’re worried, and I am too. This isn’t like before. We’re both going to come out of this. Together. You know that. We’ll come out of this one whole.” Nora cast her eyes down.

 _What if we didn’t come out okay though? What if everything fell apart and one of us did something that tore apart the team? What if after this, we’re told we have to disband because Beacon doesn’t allow loser teams on its roster and has no use for Hunters and Huntresses that can’t even handle a tournament? What if everything came crashing down because of all of this? What if Magnhild jammed in the middle of transforming or the grenade got lodged? What if Ren got hurt? What if Pyrrha went down? What if we lost Jaune too quickly and half of our strategy went out the window?_ Nora didn’t notice Ren’s arms rubbing over her back as she silently panicked, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to see his hands heading down to hers and watching her carefully.

“Nora?”

“Hm?” Nora looked up at him, expecting to see that look of reassurance. She expected to hear him talk about strength and courage and how they needed to give it their all in this fight to prove everyone wrong, to show everyone that Team JNPR was just as important as RWBY. She expected his hands to be on hers like they were but she was off put by the hand that headed up to her cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears that hadn’t started to fall and wouldn’t if he could help it.

“You’re strong. Stronger than all of these doubts and insecurities. You know what it takes to win and you have been the muscle to our fight since the beginning. You’ve been the strength to carry us through. You did that with me when it was just the two of us for years and you’re doing it now.” Ren held a finger to her lips when she tried to protest, stopping her to continue. “I just don’t want to see you crumble because you think you have to do this to prove something. You don’t. I already know you’re worth your weight in Dust and then some because I wouldn’t trade you for anything. You’ve always been there for me. So this one time at least, let me be the one to be there for you.”

With the festival, the trip back to the village would have to wait. They knew that going into it, but Ren pulled her into another hug this time, more so for himself than her. The two of them had wanted to disguise their trip to the village as a scouting mission for school, but they needed to see what had happened after the Grimm attack. They needed to know who was left after their parents held off wave after wave. They never got that chance.

_“Ren! Take Nora and go! We’ll fight off the Grimm.” Ren grabbed her hand and sprinted, no thought on his mind aside from keeping her safe._

_“No, Ren, we have to go back. Mom will nee---” Nora reached out for her mom as she disappeared from sight to join Ren’s father and mother on the battlefield as the Grimm towered over them._

_“Mom told me to get you to safety. We aren’t going back there. Not when they can-- look, we need to go. Both of us. We aren’t going to stay away long. Just enough for them to take out the Grimm and make it safe again. We have them to keep us safe.”_

_Nora nodded. Hours passed from the time they had escaped into the woods, hiding up in trees to keep from being spotted from the Grimm. They hopped down, returning to the village to find most of it in shambles, some of the buildings smoldering._

_“Ren?” Nora asked, hand still tight with his. He shook his head, unable to voice the horrors of seeing their village burned and torn apart. Bodies of Grimm and humans lay about the village._

It had been years since they had gone back, going from place to place, looking for somewhere that could be home outside of each other. They needed a place to live and thrive like they had done before the attack; that was Beacon. Pyrrha and Jaune were still surprised that first night when Ren woke up, Nora cuddled against his chest. _‘This is just how we are. We’re close. Don’t make a big deal out of it.’_ And they hadn’t. It was comfortable. It felt right. It felt like home.

He knew she still remembered too. He knew what was at stake here. However, he could be the strong one for her. He could be there. He could tell her those words of reassurance like he did when they found they didn’t have a home to return to, at least not until arriving at Beacon and making a new one after jumping from place to place. He saved a lot of his time talking for her. Late at night when it was just the two of them and he wouldn’t have to worry about someone listening in. Ren pulled back from her, staring down as she had started to cry a little from the pressures.

“We may not have a home to go back to like everyone else does, but we have each other. We have something stronger than a stationary roof. We have a bond. Even when we lose, we never lose that.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead, lingering for a few moments before hugging her tight. She needed him now and he wasn’t about to let her down at that time. He smiled down at her when they pulled away, more proud of her in these recent years than he had ever been.

“I can do this,” Nora said, reassuring herself.

“We can do this,” Ren added, grabbing her hand as they walked over to join Jaune and Pyrrha. “Because we have each other. Let’s go show Team BRNZ how it’s done.” Nora squeezed his hand.

“Ready.”

 


End file.
